Sale unlikely to result in major changes at Tiverton Power plant

Tiverton Power should have a new owner, probably before the end of the year.

But their workers and customers will notice few changes, according to a spokesman for the new owner, Emera Inc.

Kevin P. O’Connor

Tiverton Power should have a new owner, probably before the end of the year.

But their workers and customers will notice few changes, according to a spokesman for the new owner, Emera Inc.

“There are no plans to change anything, including no changes to the workforce,” said Dina Seely, spokeswoman for Emera, a power company located in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Emera announced this week that it would buy Tiverton Power, along with plants in Bridgeport, Conn., and Rumford, Maine, from Capital Power Corp., for $541 million.

“We are hoping to close by late in 2013,” Seely said. “The transaction has not yet closed.”

Tiverton Power is a 265-megawatt power plant that is fired by natural gas. The plant went online in 2000. It was purchased by Capital Power Corp. in 2011.

Tiverton Power is the only tenant of the Tiverton Industrial Park, located off of Fish Road next to Route 24.

The plant runs 24 hours a day and employes 17 people. With the purchase of the three plants, Emera will add 58 employees to its roster, Seely said.

“Everyone will retain their positions,” she said. “There are no changes planned.”

Emera already operates a hydro-electric generator on the Penobscot River in Bangor, Maine, and maintains high-tension electric transmission lines in northern Maine.

Most of its operations are in New England or the Canadian maritime provinces.

The Bridgeport, Conn., plant and the Rumford, Maine, plant also are relatively new and are fired by natural gas. The Bridgeport plant produces 520 megawatts. The Rumford plant 265.

By comparison, the Brayton Point Power Station in Somerset produces 1,530 megawatts of electricity. The wind farm proposed for Tiverton, with eight turbines, would produce 25 megawatts.

“These are quality assets, in a region Emera knows very well, having operated in the New England gas and electricity markets for more than a decade,” said Chris Huskilson, president and CEO of Emera.

“Adding gas generation to our existing generation portfolio of wind and hydro assets in the northeast has been a strategic objective for Emera. We are pleased to have acquired these particular assets, which are highly efficient, well situated and low emitting, which we believe can deliver value to our business.”

Huskilson added: “Emera is making this investment for the long term.” He said he expects the value of the plants to increase as older plants, which are older and less efficient, are shut down.”